


a glimpse of what could be

by muggle95



Series: Muggle's HP Fics [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:27:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29357970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muggle95/pseuds/muggle95
Summary: Severus' talent for passive legillimancy is often a boon. He can sense lies or anticipate an upcoming attack. But sometimes, it confuses a situation more than clarifying it(a spin off of shadowscribe's Harry Potter and the Greatest Show, chapter 7; two different interpretations of the other side of a particular not-quite interaction)
Series: Muggle's HP Fics [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1901860
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Harry Potter and the Greatest Show](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15087428) by [shadowscribe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowscribe/pseuds/shadowscribe). 



> chapter one is compliant with Harry Potter and the Greatest Show (though probably not Harry Potter and the Peanut Gallery - because we see Snape and Harry interacting just after this and Severus doesn't even wonder about this moment)
> 
> chapter two is what I first imagined in the few paragraphs before Snape actually pulled Harry aside; completely different than the route the fic actually went

Severus stepped out of the shadows by the door and thanked the prefect who had introduced him, gathering the attention of his latest batch of students. Potter was the first among them to fix his eyes unerringly upon Severus, though the rest were prompt enough. He kept his face blank rather than sneer at Potter as he wished. It wouldn't be fair to the students around him.

He didn't mean to catch Potter's gaze. He couldn't bear to see the disgust and hatred in Lily's eyes all over again.

Their eyes met anyway.

He didn't mean to touch Potter's thoughts either. But Severus had a talent for passive legillimancy. He hadn't done anything to discourage it. Knowing when someone was preparing to attack him had saved his life more than once, and as a teacher it came in handy when students tried to bluff him about their owl shredding their homework for its nest.

Right now, that was working against him. Despite Severus' intention to speak and leave, and interact no further with his students, when their eyes met, Severus was greeted with a deep wave of grief, tinged with horror, and a mental image of bright scarlet red.

The image passed almost instantly, but it lingered in his mind's eye even as he recognized that Potter had squeezed his eyes shut, thankfully breaking the connection.

So the boy was disproportionately worked up about not having made it into Gryffindor like his awful father. Severus buried the urge to sigh, as well as the lingering grief, behind long-practiced occlumency shields. He would give his speech, welcoming the rest of the students, and then he would worry about preempting the brat's tantrum.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is decent at occlumency, but not in the middle of a flashback

Their eyes met.

Severus hadn't meant to perform legillimancy at all, and the image that bloomed in his mind didn't come with the force of someone performing legillimancy on _him_.

Nevertheless, he was subjected to a graphic image of his own death, bleeding out from a jagged wound on his neck, choking out desperate pleas, with blood and something silver-white swirling together, overwhelming the image.

It only lasted for a split second, before Potter broke the connection by squeezing his eyes shut, but the emotions - the horror and grief and fury - lingered and Severus had to tuck them away behind his own occlumency shields lest he scare the children.

... lest he scare the _other_ children. Potter had gone pale and rigid and seemed to be breathing shallowly. The image hadn't come tinged with hatred or schadenfreude or malice, only horror and grief. It wasn't something he had forced upon Severus; it probably wasn't something Severus was meant to see at all. He tucked all of these observations away quickly, before he even had a chance to linger on the cognitive dissonance of a Potter grieving Severus' apparent death.

Years of habit at giving this speech, plus tight control of his occlumency - keeping everything locked away until the right moment - meant he was able to introduce his expectations perfectly, with all the right nuance.

Finally, he was done. He dismissed them all except...

"Potter, a word." Was the boy a seer? Why had he imagined such a vivid image of Severus' death? He had to know.

The boy approached, looking innocently curious, if a bit cautious. Severus snapped up his anti-eavesdropping charm with hardly a thought.

"Professor," he greeted politely, the word containing a hint of a question about why he was being singled out.

Potter was looking at his face but not meeting his eyes now. Severus tried a gentle legillimancy probe anyway and found rudimentary occlumency shields. Impressive, for someone so young. And Potter had clearly noticed, if the way he stiffened was any indication. Doubly impressive.

Severus would have to tread lightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stopping here because tbh I'm not sure how Severus would pursue the issue. He's not going to ask straight out, and all the insight we get into his character in the original fic is after this moment goes entirely differently.
> 
> That said, I'm fascinated at the idea of him catching Harry out and learning the truth early, and being able to be an ally not just a sympathetic parental figure... even though I love the dynamic they develop in the original


End file.
